New information about llamas, cat bears and others.

There are around 500 animals to see at Kleve Zoo. As well as the red panda, the zoo’s star attraction, visitors can discover many other species. These include cat bears, West African pygmy goats, Shetland ponies, fingered wallabies, white-tufted marmosets and llamas. Students from Rhein-Waal University of Applied Sciences have now created new information boards for these six animal species as part of the ‘Zoological Information Boards’ project within the ‘Bio Science and Health’ degree programme at the Faculty of Life Sciences.

In collaboration with project leaders Christine Oster and Dietmar Cornelissen from Kleve Zoo, and Axel Hinnemann, a research assistant at the university, informative and engaging information boards were produced following the students’ careful research into the individual animal species. The students received valuable support from animal keeper Christine Oster, who was able to provide important guidance thanks to her specialist knowledge. As well as gaining experience of working in a team, the focus for the students as part of the project was on conducting scientific research into the data and facts about each animal species. The signs were then produced in accordance with the layout developed in previous years and the zoo’s corporate design guidelines. As well as describing the animal species and illustrating information about its distribution using a world map, the signs were complemented by a photograph of the animal. The photographs were taken by wildlife photographer Lisa Hanke.

To ensure that the new animal signs are in line with current technology, a QR code was placed on each sign. The QR code provides access to further information about the various animals and their habitats, as well as images. This code is located on the sign and can be scanned using a smartphone. By scanning the code, it is also possible to listen to the information text as an audio recording. This text was narrated by Lukas Baumann, a presenter at Antenne Niederrhein.